Shrek the Halls :: DVD Review

Tis the season to be jolly, so where does that leave a grumpy ogre on the holidays? Shrek is clueless about Christmas, but he wants to make the day special for Fiona and the kids, so he tries asking Donkey for decorating advice.

‘Tis the season to be jolly, so where does that leave a grumpy ogre on the holidays? Shrek is clueless about Christmas, but he wants to make the day special for Fiona and the kids, so he tries asking Donkey for decorating advice. This isn’t the best idea—instead of putting Shrek’s mind at ease, Donkey fires off a long to-do list: “You mean you haven’t [kwlink1608]trimmed your stockings or hung your chestnuts or roasted the tree[/kwlink]?” Shrek panics—he hasn’t even “fig-a-fied his pudding!” How can he “make a Christmas” in only a few days?

A Christmas Manual

Shrek finds hope in the pages of The Village Idiot’s Guide to a Perfect Christmas, but the manual isn’t exactly geared toward a family of ogres, so he improvises—a toilet seat makes a good wreath, right? The swamp slowly begins to resemble the book’s picture-perfect illustrations, but when you’ve got friends like Donkey, the peaceful scene can’t last.

Uninvited Guests

Shrek’s plans for a quiet evening are quickly dashed when Donkey and a motley crew of nursery rhyme characters crash the intimate evening. Shrek tries to tell the story of The Night Before Christmas, but Donkey, Puss in Boots and the Gingerbread Man keep interrupting with their own versions of the tale. Will the party crashers ruin everything? Will Shrek ever understand the true meaning of Christmas? You’ll have to watch to find out!

The Bottom Line

Shrek the Halls retains all the charm of the full-length Shrek movies, while making you feel better about your own dysfunctional family Christmas. The Special Features section offers lots of holiday goodies, including Gingy’s Dunkin’ Game, a fun, interactive matching game, and the Dreamworks animation video jukebox, a collection of music videos from your favourite Dreamworks CG movies. There’s also a Twelve Days of Christmas sing-a-long featuring the militaristic penguins from Madagascar: “Deck the halls, it’s time to party. And that’s an order!” Yes, sir!